A Colossal Yearning Everlasting
by LoveTheKenyans
Summary: It has been exactly 278 days since she found me. 278 days since an angel found me. But then the incident happened, and everything changed. Kataang, chapter story. Unintentional humor.
1. My Angel

A Colossal Yearning Everlasting

It had been exactly 278 days since she found me. 278 days since an angel found me, a scenario in which you experience both the distinct feeling of being loved and when you know all hell must have wreaked havoc on at least one person you know, or else they wouldn't be there to save you. 278 days since I found out that I had survived for 100 years when everyone well knew I was supposed to be dead, and when I found out I had approximately 11 months to master all four elements, which has never been done by any of the past Avatars in such a short time, nor at the age of twelve. So now that I have mostly mastered air, water, and earth, I only have something like 63 days left to master fire. Oh wow my life sucks.

But then again, as long as my angel is here with me I think I will be okay.


	2. Twas the Night Before the Battle

_Peace. Still peace. It seems__ so fresh in the midst of everything that has been going on. There's Sokka sitting, happily eating his seal jerky. There's Toph, smiling in her much needed sleep. There's Katara. Beautiful, wonderful Katara. But what is she doing? She appears to be running away from something, but she isn't moving anywhere, she is screaming but there isn't any sound coming from her mouth. Her eyes disappeared from her face and all there was left was white, solid white. No more of the indescribable Sapphire blue eyes that I dream about __every night. Then smoke __ to __aro__se from her skin and I__ only__ watched as she slowly disintegrated into nothing, and all I could do was sit and watch, I couldn't get up and help her for I was too mortified. Suddenly a booming noise sounded from all around me._

_"AANG!"_

_ I whimpered at the sound of the voice that I knew all too well._

_"Aang…"_

_All of a sudden she jumped out of the pile of ashes that were her remains and she ran at me with full force and the next thing I knew…_

"Aang!"

I jolted up and assumed my fighting stance, but when I recognized my surroundings I lowered my arms and relaxed a bit more. It was all just a dream, well more like a night mare I guess. I'd say most people would have nightmares on what could easily be the eve of their death.

"Aang, you've been panting and yelling in your sleep for hours! Are you okay?," sang that sweet, melodic voice.

"Uh… yeah I'm okay. I guess I'm just a little nervous about the battle. But I'll be okay. Thanks."

I meant for that to come out all manly sounding, but it ended up sounding like I was scared and like I wanted to run to my bed and hide under my blankets. But of course I couldn't do that anyway because I don't even have blankets.

"Look, it's going to be okay. We're all going to be alright, I promise cross my heart and hope to die," as she said that she pulled me into a strong embrace that I will never forget.

I honestly felt like crying.

Seriously who wouldn't?

The feeling of the girl of your dreams holding you in her arms mixed with the feeling of the whole world depending on you to win a to-the-death battle, not to mention I'm only a twelve year old boy, is a little too much for one person to handle.

"I appreciate everything you've done for me Katara, I want you to know that before I leave with a good chance of never coming back."

At first she didn't say anything, she just looked at me with a horrified face, and then pulled me back into an even tighter embrace.

"Aang, don't say that, oh spirits please don't say that. You'll come back. You have to come back…" she looked like she was going to say more, but she never got to finish because she broke into tears, and seeing her crying like her heart was ripped out of her chest, made me cry just as hard.

"Katara, please don't… please don't cry," I said in-between sniffles.

And we just sat there bawling like babies for who-knows-how-long, but oh man did it make me feel better. When we both were over our little mental breakdowns, I was actually the first one to speak.

"Okay, I won't say that again. I'm really sorry I made you cry. That's the last thing I ever want to see, is you crying. "

She smiled, and once again, hugged me.

"Aang, I want you to know, before you leave, that I… I really care about you, so um… be careful out there," she said, with a few sniffles here and there.

That's pretty much all I've ever wanted to hear since she woke me up from my 100 year sleep. I mean it would've been even cooler in my opinion if she had said something like "Oh my gosh Aang! I LOVE YOU!!!" and she would've just jumped on top of me and we would've made out non-stop for hours. But you and I both know that's never going to happen.

"I care about you too, and you need to promise me you'll watch yourself out there, okay?"

"I promise Aang."

And before I even had a chance to think about it we were slowing moving closer to each other…

"GUYS, WE HAVE TO GO, LIKE, PRONTO, OR WE MIGHT MISS THE ARMY!"

We quickly moved away from each other and I could've sworn I saw a blush on her cheeks.

Little did I know that that would be the last time I would ever even get close to her for a very long time.


	3. To Be Homicide Or Not to be Homicide

Avoid. Evade. Avoid. Evade.

_"Typical airbender tactic.__" _

Those were the words of a crazy, yet wise, king that I had admired. But when he had said that, he meant it in a bad way.

Right now that's all I can do.

He has no mercy. It's just one shot after another, there is barely enough time for me to breathe.

I'll have to come up with something quick or I'm screwed.

**Katara's POV**

We're surrounded. There's not much left that I can do. We're stuck.

Aang will have to end this soon, or else we're all going to have to run out, and there's no possible that any valuable amount of us are going to make it out. We have to finish this now, or it's hopeless.

I have faith that Aang can do this.

He has to.

My main concern is that he makes it back. So many things could go wrong.

I just pray that he will make it back to me safely.

**Aang's POV**

_Come on, arrows, do me a favor and glow!_

1, 2, 3… GLOW!

_Blast. This isn't working._

_Look, there's everyone that I drug into this__, down there, they're each the about the size of a pea. But I can still tell that they are surrounded and if I don't do something fast they're all going to die, and I can__'t__ let people die at my fault, heck, I don't even want Ozai to die._

_But some people are just so crazy that they needed to be eliminated._

"What are you thinking about Avatar? You're slowing down quite a bit. I wanted this to be at least somewhat of a challenge," Ozai said with the slightest hint of fatigue in his voice.

He's starting to slow down just a little, I need to distract him, and then maybe I can make it out of this alive.

"Come on, Avatar. All of these years I've been told about and trained for this little Avatar State of yours. Where is it? Why aren't you using it?" He said in his sinister, ghastly voice that always sent shivers up my spine.

While he was saying this, I threw myself at him with full force. I shot rapid blasts of air at him with one arm and water with my other. I landed behind his back and quickly earthbended the ground around his feet and made it sinking sand. He slowly sank down a few feet, and, with his arms still free, he stopped moving. I knelt over and caught my breath while he recovered from the shock. Then I heard him snicker,

"Ha, I'll admit that was a twelve-year-old-worthy move. Maybe even thirteen."

And with that he exhaled fire threw his nose, while also bending fire with his nose, somehow causing a huge explosion.

_Man, if I make it out of here alive, Zuko has to teach me that one._

The next thing I knew he was running straight for me with fire and lightning and all of that other hazardous stuff that firebenders are prone to using. I tried my best to bend an air-shield around me, but I didn't quite finish when he hit me. The impact caused yet another rather large explosion and it sent both of us flying. I took this opportunity to gather all the power I had left and I created a suit of armor of fire and I ran towards him and started throwing punches at him.

The way he could dodge, Ozai could have been an airbender. But, he's not quite that good, because I finally nailed him square in the face. As a retort, he sent a sharp blast fire and it burnt my stomach.

I fell over in pain as I gasped for breath. My vision was blurry, but out of the corner of my eye I could see Ozai coming closer to me, with his fingers in the lighting formation.

_No. I have to get up. I promised. Come on…_

But my body wouldn't move. At this point I was bleeding out of places I never thought possible and I knew I would die, whether Ozai finished me off or not. The only possible thing that could save me now was the Avatar State, and I had no idea if whether I had unlocked my seventh chakra or not. I mean I had let go of Katara, but I do still love her, so I really don't know what the standards are of this whole Avatar State thing are. But it would be extremely helpful if it would kick in now.

He grabbed me by the collar and held me up to the wall. "Well, it's been fun, but it looks like you've lost, maybe in the next life," he said with that gloomy laughter of his. With that he rose those two deadly weapons that somehow passed as fingers. I felt myself slowly slipping out of consciousness.

No, come on… you…can't… no…

And with that I was out.


	4. Who's the Dead one Anyway?

Aang.

Aang.

AANG!

I felt a fierce blast of heat hit my face, and I jolted upright.

I looked down to see my old nomad clothes. Oh how I missed them, they were so much more comfortable than these hot, itchy Fire Nation clothes.

When I looked up, I was very puzzled at who I saw.

"Aang, don't worry, you're not dead, everything's okay."

"Avatar Roku… how… why… what's happening?" I managed to spit out.

"When you lost the ability to go into the Avatar State, something happened. You are in the Avatar State now, but now you have come to the Spirit World, and the reason being that you are not _supposed _to be able to go into the Avatar State. You still haven't unlocked the seventh chakra; you haven't let that girl of yours go. If you don't, there is a great chance that your spirit will not renter your body, marking you officially dead. But if you let the girl go, and unlock the last chakra, then you can return to your body and have total control of what you're doing in the Avatar State. Are you willing to do that?"

_Should I do it? I don't want to die; I need to win the war. But on the other hand, my body in the Avatar State could probably handle it on __its__ own. __ I can't let go of Katara, I just can't._

"Aang, let me word it in a way that you could best understand it. If you choose the girl over your life, what do you think that will do to _her_ life?"

I hadn't thought about that one. Her life matters too. I remembered how she'd been every time I went off somewhere; she's always so worried about me. Oh and I remember the stories of how she'd been after Azula's attack. Boy was I glad I was unconscious, because I would _never _want to see her like that.

"Aang?"

"I'll try."

"I was hoping you'd say that. You're very talented Aang, even more than myself. I could never have handled all of this at your age, let alone with the girl troubles that you have."

"Girl troubles? I'll have you know that I'm doing just fine with her, and no matter how wrong that may sound, I'm not having 'girl troubles'," I said, and we both laughed.

I sat down in meditation position and began to focus on Katara.

I had no choice but to let her go.

_There she goes, off into space. "Flowing down the river" as the guru once said. Before me laid a lucent green pathway, much like the purple one that I had seen before, only this one was different somehow. I don't see anything ahead of me, and up ahead I can see the path starting to get windy. I start to walk faster, eventually breaking into a run, for I need to get there as fast possible. I keep running, and when I was about to give up and turn around, I feel a blast of wind hit my face, and I look down to see something approaching__ me with great speed, and once it reaches me, it causes me to fall off of the narrow green pathway. I keep falling and falling until I hit something hard. I stood back up and rub my now sore spots. I look up to see a giant version of myself in the Avatar State, with a green tint to it. I run to it, not knowing what else to do. Once I reach it, it bends down and hands something that resembles a treasure chest to me. Then it bends backward, inhales, and with all of its might, exhales and blows me clear off the mountain.__ I blink, and when I open my eyes again__…_

"That's right, the Avatar was a waste of my time; I took him out without even breaking a sweat. Look, there's his body over there."

My vision was blurred, but I could still see that a muscled man was quickly making his way towards me. I wasn't sure what to do, the man coming toward me could be Ozai looking for some overkill, or it could be some man just coming to make sure I'm dead. Either way I had to prove them wrong, because I was still alive and kicking, and hopefully I would be kicking some butt.

I closed my eyes and called the Avatar State. Since I had mastered the Avatar State, I didn't have to meditate or anything. It would just come to me in the blink of an eye, and oh how that would come in handy in the future.

I opened my eyes and everything seemed normal. But when I blew a blast of air at the man next to me, he went flying 50 feet, and slammed against the metal wall, unable to get back up. I smiled, getting that tingly feeling you get when you know you just accomplished something fantastic. I opened my mouth and breathed out fire pushing the other man, who happened to be Ozai, back. I rapidly shot rocks and water with my arms while shooting air and fire out of my mouth. Finally, I had Ozai on his knees, bleeding badly, and just maybe on his deathbed.


	5. By His Side

"Katara did you see that light? Do you think…?"

"But that's impossible, he said he couldn't…"

Suddenly, all I wanted was to be by his side.

I had always been there to help him after he had come out of the Avatar State, and that's what I had to do then. I lowered my hands and started to run. I ran past the guards that we were fighting off, who were now staring at me, baffled.

"Katara! Where are going? Wait… NO! Come back! Katar…"

Sokka didn't finish his sentence, and soon following I heard the sounds of a sword slashing and the flames of a fire burning, but I didn't turn around.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

_**Flashback:**_

_"Mommy!"_

_"Hey, there's my little Katara. Look, Mommy has to go do something very important right now; can you go with your brother and Daddy?"_

_"__Awww__, but Mommy!__ I want to come with you!"_

_"I wish you could come with me honey, but right now__, you need to go with Sokka and Daddy, okay?"_

_"Okay, Mommy," __I sighed._

_"But don't worry; I'll see you tonight at dinner. __Okay, sweetie?"_

_I saluted her like it was very official. __"Yes ma'am."_

_She laughed and said, "Bye honey, see you tonight. I love you. Stay safe."_

_"Bye Mommy,__ I love you too. I will, I will, __sheesh__"_

_We hugged and __I __never saw__ her again in my life._

_**End Flashback**_

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Katara!!! Please! Come back!" was all I could make out from a voice calling from somewhere off in the distance. The voice was obviously coming from Sokka, you could tell by how his voice was cracking on every other word he said. But I of course I'm not going to turn around, he's just wasting his breath.

I guess I just didn't care anymore. I must have been so self-centered, to have left my own brother, whom I'd know my whole 14 years, for my best friend whom I'd known for 10 months.

But despite what my every brain cell was telling me, I kept running towards where I thought the light came from.

After a few minutes of breathless running, I could see the palace room, glowing a dim reddish-orange.

_Oh no, I didn't make it in time, I was too slow. I waited too long._

For a split second, I stopped running, realizing that he could be lying there, dead, because I wasn't there to catch him this time.

But I shook it off and kept going, the world speeding by my face as I ran; I could feel the icy cld wind blow through my hair.

_That's strange. This is the Fire Nation, it shouldn't be so cold._

But I ignored that fact and, afraid to just barge in, put my ear to the door and listened to what was going on in the room. I could hear loud grunting noises, unable to tell who they were coming from.

I felt a freezing blast of wind blow past me, and I felt, for the first time since this battle began, a smile form at the edges of my lips. He was definitely in the Avatar State, and it made me feel so proud of him to know that he had finally accomplished what he had been striving for. That along with firebending; he had grown up so much.

I sat there for a few more minutes, hearing various screaming, until suddenly, I heard a sharp sizzling sound accompanied by an extremely loud, cacophonous scream yell out.

I felt all the blood rush to my head, and I stopped breathing.

_Oh no. Was that__ sound__… light__n__ing?_

All I could think to do was scuttle my way through the askew door. As I made my way in, I was surprised, but not at all disappointed to see Ozai dead on the ground, lying in a puddle of his own blood. It felt wrong to smile at someone's misfortune, but I couldn't help my self. But what was weird was that he had a lighting-entrance scar on his back, much like Aang's.

"Leave. Now. Never forget what I just did for you, and leave. The world is free, and you're still alive. Be grateful. Go! Go far, far away from here."

The voice comes as a shock to me in the dull silence. I turn my head to see a rather large man who I don't recognize talking to Aang.

"Alright I'll leave… but why…"

"No buts, no questions. LEAVE!"

Aang didn't say anything, just shook his head with a nervous look on his face. He ran away, and I, realizing what was happening, ran out after him.

"Aang, wait!"

But he didn't even acknowledge my screams pleading for him to come back. Although I could've sworn, as he was flying on his glider, he glanced back at me, with tears filling his eyes.


	6. I Believe I can Fly

_Fly. Don't Stop. You heard him. I can't stop no matter what. I have to get away._

I passed over I don't know how many towns, and they all looked very warm and welcoming, but I knew better than to stop. If I stopped, that man would track me down and all I knew and loved would die. I won't have that for the people I love. They will not die because of my mistakes, I promise that on my life.  
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

After flying for so long, it must've been at least four hours, I had no idea where I was anymore. I remember I had crossed over Ba Sing Se about an hour ago, so I must've fled from the back of the Fire Nation.

_Maybe if I keep flying south, I can reach the Southern Air Temple, and begin my renewed life as a monk._

But I knew that was not where I was really headed. My heart was automatically leading me to the South Pole, to wait for Katara's return from battle. So I kept flying towards the Southern Air Temple, while simply harboring the information of to where I was actually headed to myself. -  
-  
A/N: Thanks to everybody for reading my story so far, sorry this chapter was so short, but hey, no complaining, you got TWO chapters today! And thanks a lot to everyone that has been reviewing, it is much appreciated. I plan to maybe finish this story up in maybe two or three more chapters, but we'll see. Sorry if this was a little crappy, I had to use Notepad.


	7. What The Future Holds

"Katara's coming!"

Though my vision was blurry, I could still tell who was running towards me with urgency.

Toph.

"Katara, you've been gone for almost a week, we've been worried sick! Where have you been?!"

I didn't really feel like answering, I just walked over to the watering hole and got a much-needed sip of water.

No one really talked to me for a while after that, so I eventually just decided to get some also much-needed sleep.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"_Miss Katara, we are sorry to inform you that your grandmother has passed."_

_I thought I would break into tears, but nothing came. _

"_It was really only a matter of time. She was so old."_

_So I went through the day as scheduled, except I left for home a little later than usual. On my way, this creepy man stepped out of a dark alley, holding my father in one hand, a dagger in the other._

"_Give me all of your money or your old man gets it."_

_I expected to be terrified, but nothing came._

"_Frankly, I don't care what you do with that man. He is of no interest to me anymore. I'll just get more money when he is killed, so go right ahead."_

_The man stabbed my father, and he laid there, dying right in front of me with eyes that could pierce skin, and I walked away, with nothing smaller than a smile on my face._

_I finally reached my house, but I had forgotten my key, so I had to go around back. As I was turning the corner, I see my brother sitting there holding the sharp end of his boomerang to his chest. He looked up, somewhat surprised to see me there, and maybe just in time to save his life. I expected myself to burst out crying; to lean down and console him._

_But I said nothing, I just stared at him coldly._

"_You're not going to stop me?"_

"_No. Go right ahead, I don't care."_

_He seemed hurt, and I saw a single tear flow down his cheek before he fiercely brought the sharp edge down on his chest, causing blood to spurt out of his mouth. I waited there until he was dead. I just watched. After he had turned a pale green, I knew it was over, so I continued on my way to the back of my house. It turns out I had left my back door open when I left this morning. I walked in and settled down, not even checking to make sure no one had snuck into my house while I was gone._

"_What's happened to you?"_

_I didn't turn around._

"_You're a monster."_

_I slightly tilted my head backwards to see who it was that was criticizing me._

_It was Aang._

_I expected to go into a state of shock and dance around making retarded noises, but I had absolutely no reaction._

"_I'm perfectly fine with what I've become."_

"_Are you? Are you really?"_

"_Yes. I really am."_

"_The Katara I used to know… The Katara I used to love, loved everyone around her, and would always be there for the people who need her. You're not Katara anymore, you're someone else."_

"_Well if I'm not 'Katara' anymore, then why are you here?!"_

"_I thought maybe I could save you."_

"_Sorry Aang. There's nothing left to save. If you really wanted to save me you wouldn't have left all those years ago."_

"_I had no choice."_

"_Goodbye, Aang."_

_And with that I lifted the knife that I always kept in my pocket in case anything like this ever happened. I slowly pulled the knife across my wrists, and for the first time in years, I laughed as my spirit, if you could even call it that, was slowly drifting away._

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I woke up with a jolt and Toph came running over to me.

"Katara?! Are you okay? You look very feverish, I think we need to get you to a doctor, and fast."

I looked down at my arms and legs, and she was right, they were really pale. And I did feel weaker than normal.

"Since when have you cared so much?" I asked her, not even caring that I sound like I've just been repeatedly hit by a flying bison.

"Ever since I found out that we're the only two that came back from battle."

And I just stared at her, with a blank expression on my face, not processing until later that that means my brother is dead.


	8. The Village People

**A/N: ****Sorry it took me so long to get this chapter up. I sent it to be beta-read, which took about a week, and when I finally got it back, it turns out I can't copy and paste it from the thing I used. I've been trying to fix it all this time but to no success, so you're basically reading the uncorrected proof. Just wanted to warn you. **

* * *

"Thanks for letting me stay for free. I really appreciate it."

"Hey, don't mention it. I hope to see you again," the clerk gestured with a wide smile.

I waved goodbye to him and walked out the door, feeling strong and refreshed after a good night's sleep. As I was walking down the street to buy supplies for my journey, I heard a voice call out to me.

"You. You're the Avatar, are you not?"

My smile slowly fades as I turn around to answer the question.

"Yes. Yes I am." I tried to turn around to keep from having to talk to him any more, but he spoke up again.

"What are you doing here?"

"I came here to rest."

"Where is your bison, your friends?"

The simple frown that had already formed on my face at this man's earlier inquiry now turned into a hellish grimace.

"I was forced to leave them behind."

The man was unhesitant with his questions.

"But shouldn't you be in complete control right now, you _did_ defeat the Fire Lord, didn't you?"

"Sir, I'm starting to feel uncomfortable with…"

"Answer my question."

"Please, sir, you're starting…"

"Did you or did you not defeat the Fire Lord?!"

"Well it wasn't me exactly…"

"Well then who was it?"

"I'm not sure…"

"So you let some man you don't know steal your destiny, and your rightful place on the throne?"

"I've never thought of it that way."

"Well you should have, because now, look at you, you're all alone, and who's to say we won't end up the same way?"

"I… I don't know."

"Why did you leave?"

"He threatened to kill me…"

"It's your destiny to die for the world."

"…and everyone I know and love…"

"Everyone you know or the whole world, hmm which one would I choose?"

"…but she was standing right there! I couldn't just let that man kill her! I was too weak to fight him off! I'm sorry!!"

I kneeled down, with a river of tears flowing down my cheeks while I began to sob.

"You're a disgrace."

For some reason, all I wanted from this man was for him to console me, like Katara used to do when I was this upset. But I wouldn't have _been_ that upset if Katara was there. But the man just walked away, shaking his head.

After a few minutes of calming myself down, I stood up and noticed a crowd of people had gathered around me. Most of them looked concerned, like they were _sorry_ for the world's only hope; _sorry_ that the Avatar had gone completely crazy.

"Back off people, there's nothing to see here!"

I looked over to try and see who the person was trying to shoo everybody away and found it was the clerk that had been so kind to me before.

"My Lord son, are you alright? That was quite a fit you just had."

"I think I'll be okay, thanks," I said with the smile slowly returning to my face.

"You'll be okay to travel, you don't need to stay another night? I'll let you stay free if you need."

"No sir, I think I'll be okay, but thank you so much for your kindness, it has been what's made this time of depression bearable."

He smiled and we shook hands.

"My father always said: "There are so many creeds, so many paths that wind and wind, while just the art of being kind, is all the sad world needs."

"Your father must've been one smart man."

"He was. Did you know he helped with the invention of the catapult?"

"No way!"

"Heh, just kidding. He wasn't _that_ old. Well I suppose you should be getting' on your way if you're well, then?"

"Yeah I suppose I should. Thanks again for all your help."

I turned, waved, and again tried to go to the market to purchase supplies.

The second time I was successful, without any interruptions.

I opened up my glider, and with a big _WHOOSH_ I was gone; out of the forsaken town filled with umpteen disgruntled villagers and one kind man.

* * *

**Katara's POV:**

"Thanks for letting us stay here for free. It was nice," I heard Toph say to the clerk.

"Hey, it was no problem. I'm just glad we can finally get a peaceful night's rest without Ozai in power any more, and that, we all owe to you."

"No, no to us. Aang. The Avatar. We didn't do anything but help him get there," I piped in.

"Well, that counts for some thing, right?"

I looked away and figured it best to keep my mouth shut from then on. I didn't feel like talking to anyone anyway.

"You'll have to excuse my friend. She's going through a lot right now. But once again thank you. I think we'll be on our way now."

"Alright, you travel safe now, ya hear?"

I stood up and we left the little motel. I wasn't sure where we were headed, I just followed Toph.

"Okay, Sweetness, spill."

"What?"

"You know what. Tell me what's bothering you so much. Well you know, besides the fact your boyfriend left and your brother is dead."

Sometimes Toph just didn't know when to be sensitive, but she did make me realize the extent of my depression.

"You pretty much just said it yourself."

"No, something else is bothering you."

"Umm… well…"

"Don't make me 'earthbend' it out of you. Come on, you can tell me."

"Umm, okay. Well, as you know I was fighting along Sokka, when all of a sudden I saw a flash of white light. I knew that it was Aang, and I guess I've really not gotten over the fact that he almost died, well he _did_ die, the last time he was in the Avatar State, so I acted upon the impulse to go to him. When I was running away, I remember Sokka screaming my name, and I remember hearing blasts of fire. But I was being too selfish about my own needs to turn around and help him. It took me a while to find where he was, but when I did everything was going okay. He even killed Ozai, or so I thought. It turns out that another man, whom I have no idea whatsoever who he was, actually killed Ozai, and forced Aang to run away."

I inhaled after telling Toph the story as quickly as I could, so I wouldn't have to relive Aang's leaving again. For a while she didn't say anything, she just sat there casually.

"So that's how Sokka died."

I hesitated at first, but I looked over and noticed her white eyes were getting irritatingly red and puffy, so I resumed my presently halted motherly-like duties and wrapped her in a warm embrace. I have to say, it really felt good to hold someone again, even if it wasn't exactly who I wanted it to be.

"I'm so sorry… it was all my fault."

"Katara, I don't blame you." As she said this I could feel her finally ease into my embrace. Finally Sugarqueen had eroded the Rock.

I could see in her eyes and by the way she was shaking, she was about to crack; about to cry. Seeing this weakness that she has never shown before, caused me to let it go as well. So we sat there for a while crying in each other's arms. And oh how perverted I felt when this moment reminded me of Aang. But Toph quickly withdrew from my embrace, snapping me back to reality.

"Wait… you said… there was another man? So Aang _didn't_ defeat the Fire Lord? Oh man, so this man we don't know is in power?! What.. heh… pah, hee… WHAT?!"

I could tell Toph was heading for a nervous breakdown, so I broke in.

"Yeah, I know, I know, just calm down, please just calm down," I pleaded with her.

"Calm down? How can I be calm? Everything we've worked for all this time, it could be in jeopardy; for all we know this man could be as bad as Ozai!"

"I haven't really thought about that aspect… What do you suggest we do?"

"Well, personally I believe we should take the new guy down."

I sighed, unsure what to say. Should we go after him or go on home? That man was very dangerous… he must've been to make Aang as scared as he was.

"I don't know…"

"Well, you're going to have to learn, because if we don't than everything we've been through in the past few months will have been to a waste, and the Fire Nation will continue their reign. I know it's just the two of us now, but I'm the greatest earthbender in the world and you taught the Avatar waterbending, so I think we'll manage."

I pondered on what she said, then I stood up and started running towards where I could barely see the roof of the palace over the hilltops.


End file.
